A network device receiving a video stream that is encoded using an inter-coded compression technique generally experiences a delay between the time of joining the video stream and the time a displayable video frame can be locally reconstructed. This delay results from the fact that the inter-coded frames (for example P and B frames in the case of Motion Pictures Experts Group 2 (MPEG-2) encoding) cannot be used to reconstruct a displayable video frame until the first intra-coded frame (for example an I frame in the case of MPEG-2 encoding) has been received.
Accordingly, when a set-top box joins an inter-coded video stream in response to a user requesting a channel change or powering on the set-top box, the set-top box begins receiving compressed frame data. The set-top box must then wait to reconstruct a displayable video frame until the first intra-coded frame is available. Partial solutions to this reconstruction delay exist, but these solutions generally require a great deal of bandwidth availability on the entire network path extending from the source of the video stream to the set-top box. The disclosure that follows solves this and other problems.